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Just got it... won't turn on

B

boutym

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 28, 2007
27
0
Just got my iMac and it won't turn on (yes, it's plugged in). Well, I won't say it totally won't turn on. It did play the turn on sound and then did nothing.

Any secret to powering up this thing? Hold the button for a certain time? That sort of thing?
 
Interesting.... unplugged the keyboard and plugged it back in and it made the sound again, grey screen with the Apple logo came on for about 15 seconds and now it's dark again.

Would it being cold matter? It was sitting on my porch for who knows how long before I brought it in. I know my Dell laptop will start and then die until it gets warm enough.
 
I don't think it has anything to do with the temperature. You may want to call Apple or stop by an Apple Store with your iMac and try to get a replacement. Sounds like your iMac could be a lemon.

Have you tried plugging it into another wall socket? Give that a try too.
 
JSchwage said:
I don't think it has anything to do with the temperature. You may want to call Apple or stop by an Apple Store with your iMac and try to get a replacement. Sounds like your iMac could be a lemon.

Have you tried plugging it into another wall socket? Give that a try too.
Click to expand...

Outlet is known good. Funny thing. Was standing here looking at it and it came on for about 20 seconds and shut off again.

This just sucks. Nearest Apple store is 50 miles away.
 
Waited a little while and fired it up again. Starting to run through the setup now. I still think it was too cold. It's been cold as hell here and it probably sat on the porch since this morning.
 
It's acting almost like it's going to sleep. I was running through setup and got just past the Apple ID screen and it shut down. Clicked the mouse and it came back on and started setup over again.
 
Nope... just restarted again. I guess I'll pack it off to the Apple store tomorrow.
 
Ok, so now it's working. Posting this message from it. No shutdown. Have to see how it acts for a few days.
 
boutym said:
Waited a little while and fired it up again. Starting to run through the setup now. I still think it was too cold. It's been cold as hell here and it probably sat on the porch since this morning.
Click to expand...

If the temperature was below freezing and it sat outside all day on your porch thats probably what it was, you probably should have waited a few hours to let the computer reach room temperature before you fired it up.

Lets hope there was no damage done that might pop up later.
 
Spoke too soon. Shutting down again. Seems to happen when using the mouse more than anything. Got it boxed back up and making the trek to the Apple store today. Hope they don't give me grief because I didn't buy it through the Apple store.
 
boutym said:
Spoke too soon. Shutting down again. Seems to happen when using the mouse more than anything. Got it boxed back up and making the trek to the Apple store today. Hope they don't give me grief because I didn't buy it through the Apple store.
Click to expand...

And I seriously hope they won't say "You left it in the freezing weather, we canýt do anything"
 
My experience with electronics is that if they are extremely cold when brought inside, let them come to room temperature before operating. I've helped my equipment along with a hairdryer at times (not full blast and not too close). The condensation that forms inside the computer isn't immediately disspated after a few minutes indoors and would wreak havoc with a computer. I've had laptops give me "operating system not found" back in my windows days, but when it warmed up, everythign was good.

Good luck, and I hope it works out ok.
 
Well, from what I've been reading on the Apple forums, I'm not alone. Seems some iMacs have this exact issue and at this point I think we can rule out temperature.

I too have worked with electronics, including computers for many, many years in some pretty cold places (read that below zero for days on end) and have never seen a temperature related failure that wasn't related to bad solder joints or something else involving expansion/contraction of a connection point.

I have seen machines refuse to run properly if too cold, but this condition corrects itself in short order. Condensation can be a problem, but only if there's a significant amount of moisture in the air. I judge the potential for condensation by looking at the equipment when it's brought in from the cold. If there is evidence of condensation on the case or enclosure I'll wait to fire it up. No condensation, no problem.

I'm pretty confident that in this case we have a funky iMac.
 
boutym said:
Spoke too soon. Shutting down again. Seems to happen when using the mouse more than anything. Got it boxed back up and making the trek to the Apple store today. Hope they don't give me grief because I didn't buy it through the Apple store.
Click to expand...
Did you call AppleCare yet?
 
boutym said:
Well, from what I've been reading on the Apple forums, I'm not alone. Seems some iMacs have this exact issue and at this point I think we can rule out temperature.

I too have worked with electronics, including computers for many, many years in some pretty cold places (read that below zero for days on end) and have never seen a temperature related failure that wasn't related to bad solder joints or something else involving expansion/contraction of a connection point.

I have seen machines refuse to run properly if too cold, but this condition corrects itself in short order. Condensation can be a problem, but only if there's a significant amount of moisture in the air. I judge the potential for condensation by looking at the equipment when it's brought in from the cold. If there is evidence of condensation on the case or enclosure I'll wait to fire it up. No condensation, no problem.

I'm pretty confident that in this case we have a funky iMac.
Click to expand...


Turning on a frozen computer could absolutely cause malfunction and permanent damage. We're not talking about a soldering a resistor to a motherboard here, we're talking about circuitry smaller than a hair.

The quick start information apple provides tells you not to operate the equipment out of the accepted range. I know, nobody pays attention to that sticker on the top step of the ladder either.

It's certainly possible that you caused the damage. I would keep my mouth shut about it personally. :p
 
SXR said:
And I seriously hope they won't say "You left it in the freezing weather, we canýt do anything"
Click to expand...

And for goodness sake don't tell anyone at Apple that it was sitting out on the porch in cold weather. It may void your warranty.

Just say that when you unboxed your Imac and plugged it in it didn't work which is true.

Let them play 20 questions if needed.
 
Got a new one. They exchanged it no problem. Said they had one the other day with the same issue. Out of curiosity, after the deal was done I asked about the cold and was told that below freezing weather should not cause the problem I was having. The guy said it might keep it from booting temporarily till it warms up a bit (as I said happens with my laptop I've been leaving in the cold for 3 years now without a problem), but should not do permanent damage.
 
boutym said:
Got a new one. They exchanged it no problem. Said they had one the other day with the same issue.
Click to expand...
Coincidence or was it? Makes one wonder if the one they sold "the other day with the same issue" was the same computer stuffed back nicely into the same box, put it in inventory, and you purchased it for a great deal. :rolleyes:
 
ErikAndre said:
Coincidence or was it? Makes one wonder if the one they sold "the other day with the same issue" was the same computer stuffed back nicely into the same box, put it in inventory, and you purchased it for a great deal. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Nah... didn't get the first one from the Apple store. Ordered it through the military exchange.
 
No problems so far (except it doesn't want to connect to my IMAP mail server). I think I'm gonna like this thing. Rebooted to see how quick it came up and it is FAST. First Mac I've ever owned.
 
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